Chronicles of the Keyblade Book 2: Thieves of the Night
by Kayla-Stone
Summary: On the return trip to Disney World Emily finds a raccoon in the cargo hold. After healing him and taking him back to Disney, the team discover his name is Sly Cooper, and he was thrown into a portal that was supposed to be his death and asks for help to get home. Eager to help, Emily and the Team agree. What they don't know is that their enemies are back and with friends. No Flame
1. Hitchhicker

Chapter 1: Hitchhiker

"Guys! I need a Medic!"

Just that sentence sent the whole Gummi ship into chaos. I sat with Mr. Cooper's head in my lap as I listened to a rush of feet above and behind me. The raccoon really was beaten up, and it looked like he had only just gotten out of a fight. But that was impossible, we've been flying for over an hour now in the gummi ship.

Solas, my dragon hatchling sniffed the new comer and batted at one of his ears. He was a light dragon that the guardians let me keep since he had imprinted on me.

"Em?!" Metal, my android friend and former assassin, asked as he came in. He had blue synthetic fur with white markings and yellow eyes. Otherwise he look very much like Sonic. Same hight, same hair style, even his voice reminded me of Sonic now and then.

His eyes widened as he saw the new comer. "What happened?"

"He was awake a moment ago." I said. "He said his name was Sly Cooper. Come on, help me get him to a room."

Metal nodded and took his feet while I took his shoulders. His head slumped forward onto his chest as Metal and I lifted him. Good thing he was a little lighter than I expected, but he was still heavy. Solas helped out by grabbing Sly's tail on his mouth and dragging the cane by his tail. Sly flinched a little bit when Solas grabbed his tail, but didn't wake.

"Easy," I told metal as we left the storage room.

At the top of a small stair case leading up to the living areas of the ship, Ty had come around the corner, his Angels Creed Keyblade out and ready. He had dark brown hair and handsome features, standing only a head taller than me.

"Who's that?" Ty asked, getting out of the way as Metal and I came up the stairs.

"I don't know," I said, my arms starting to wear out. "His name's Sly Cooper, and he passed out downstairs… can you get the first aid kit?"

Ty nodded and ran off as Metal and I finally made it to the medical bay. It was small, but it would work for what we needed. Metal and I lifted Sly up onto the bed and Metal scanned him over. He often did it on me when he felt I was hiding something, which always annoyed me…. much to his enjoyment…

"He's cut up in several places." Metal explained. "Looks like he has a fair cut on his head with a concussion… and he has a cracked rib and a stab here. All in all, he's seen some action."

"But how long ago?" I asked, prepping some bandages as Roxas walked in. He was the biggest blonde hot-head that I knew of, and he seemed to always be itching to get into an argument with me.

"That's the thing…" Metal said. "The wounds are no older than thirty to fourth-five minutes old."

"Where'd this guy come from?" Roxas asked, looking at Sly.

"The storage room." I answered. "He, just appeared. Now can you please be quiet? I'm doing what I do…. best…" I trailed off noticing the stab wound. It was deeper than what Metal had made it sound. "Metal, check that wound for me?"

Metal quickly scanned it and bit his lip. "Em, he needs a doctor… And a good one for that."

I bit my lip. "Kay… not a problem then…" I said, gripping my necklace.

"Em?" Metal asked in a warning tone.

"You think you can handle that?" Roxas asked. "You passed out last time."

"That was because I went super." I explained. "Besides, I'm just going to hear the ribs, that stab wound and the concussion."

"Roxas?" Metal asked. "How about you ask Riku how long it'll take to get the Disney. He'll still need a doctor when we're done here."

Roxas was quiet for a moment, but nodded. "Don't over do it." He said as he walked out.

After he left, I took my necklace off, which held a shard of the Master Emerald. Silver had given it to me when they had gotten me home after my adventure on the Blue Typhoon. I didn't expect I'd have another space odyssey though.

I a hand over the stab wound first and gently grasped the Emerald Shard in my free hand. "Anord leigheas." I whispered feeling the shard warm through my arms and into the hand that was over the wound. I bit my lip, chaos energy always hurt me, even with my unusual bloodline.

Sly's jaw clenched and he shivered a little. I knew it hurt him a little, but he'd be better off after I take care of the worse of the wounds. I was also shaking as my hand moved up toward the cracked ribs. He took a deeper breath after a moment, showing that his ribs were better and no longer kept him from breathing properly. After that, i moved my hand to where he had the concussion. He shuddered a moment before his eyes opened just slightly. I could tell he wasn't awake, since his eyes didn't seem to focus on anything.

Finally I stopped the flow and leaned on Metal. All Sly had left were some small cuts, but it was by then Ty came back with the first aid kit. He looked at Sly, who was already looking much better, then back at me.

"You used the shard didn't you?" It wasn't a scolding question, but a gentle question.

I nodded. "He was hurt pretty bad…" I said.

Ty nodded in understanding. "Well then, I can take care of the cuts. You'd better get some rest."

I nodded, knowing that I wouldn't do anyone any good in this state. Metal lead me back to my room and helped me to my bed, passing Riku as we went. He was a platinum blonde boy with a yellow vest and bright blue eyes. He, Roxas and Ty were all Keybladers, only we just found out over a month ago. Before that, we thought that Mickey Mouse, Donald, Goofy and all the others were only cartoons that we grew up with… Boy were we wrong.

"What happened?" He asked. "Did the new comer-"

"No," Metal said, finishing his sentence. "The new comer didn't do this to Emily if that is what you were going to ask. Emily used her emerald shard to heal him."

"I'll be fine," I assured Riku. "Give me an hour and I'll be back on my feet."

Riku relaxed, but I had a feeling I might have some explaining to do when I got back to Disney Castle. Thanks to my unique bloodlines, thanks to the scientists on the ARK and Project Ada who turned out to be my several-times-great-grandmother, anyway. Due to being the descendant of Project Ada, the Prototype of Project Shadow, I had both human and Echidna DNA. This allowed me to use chaos energy, but not as easily due to my human DNA. I could also change into a Mobian Echidna with enough Chaos energy, but it was a painful process and I wasn't sure how long the affects were before I had side affects. But I was also very careful about who I told this to. I for one didn't want to be treated like a freak or sent to a lab. So far, only Metal and Ty were the only ones who knew my whole story.

"Then it's a good thing we'll be landing in Disney World within the hour." Riku told me. "With all the things the dragons gave us, we'll need help in unpacking and getting the Hitchhiker to the infirmary."

I nodded. "I can do that. Thankfully he's not too heavy."

Riku smiled. "Nothing we can't handle then. We'll let you know if something comes up."

"Alright." I told him and lay down, feeling grateful to finally rest.

It felt like I had only just fallen asleep when Metal was gently shaking me awake again. I guess I was more tired than I thought. I get up and pick up my backpack, knowing Solas was happily napping inside.

We were already safely landed in Disney World, and people were helping us unpack. Medics and healers were getting Sly onto a stretcher when Metal and I came out of my room, so I decided to follow them. After all… I was kinda curious on how they healed.

But before I could see where they were going, a familiar laugh stopped me.

"Heyukhuh! Hiya Emmy!"

I turned and smiled to see Goofy. He was in his usual clothes and not his armor like the last time I saw him, but he still had his shield strapped to his back.

"Hey Goofy!" I said as he came up and we quickly embraced. "Staying out of trouble?"

"I thought that was Donald's department." He replied, making Metal and me laugh. He gave his signature chuckle before looking at the stretcher as it went into a room. "Who's your friend?"

"Actually," Metal said. "We're not sure. He just appeared in the storage unit on out trip back. Emily's the one that found him."

"I know his name is Sly Cooper." I said. "But he passed out before I could know more."

"Hm…" Goofy thought. "Well he's in good hands now. Donald should get him back to his feet in no time."

I smiled as Ty started walking over. "I know that for sure. He did great on Ty."

Ty smiled back as Goofy grinned at him. "Oh, the raccoon isn't the only one that hitched a ride. Em, did you show him Solas?"

"Solas?" Goofy asked.

I smiled and pulled my backpack off. Opening it, I found little Solas curled up and sound asleep inside. I gently pull him out, making him wake up and blink at everyone sleepily.

Goofy knelt and looked at him. "Awww…" He said. "Never seen one so small before."

"You've seen dragons before?" Ty asked.

"A long while ago." Goofy said. "But in middle aged worlds, like Camelot."

My eyes brighten. "Camelot? Home of the knights of the round table?"

Goofy smiled. "The same."

I looked over at Ty. "I'm visiting that world before this adventure is over." I told him, making him laugh.

"We'll see Em." He assured me, putting an arm over my shoulder.

We visited with Goofy for a while before another guard came up and said that Mickey and Minnie wanted to see us. So a moment later we were back in the throne room, where the king and queen of Disney sat. Mickey smiled as we entered and stood to greet us. Riku and Roxas were already there; Riku smiled as we entered, but Roxas had a face that came close to Shadow's casual look.

"Hey guys!" Mickey said as we came in.

"Hey Mickey." I said, Solas now happily standing at my heals.

Mickey smiled at Solas. "Who's your friend?"

I also smile. "Solas. We saved his egg from the heartless and he kinda hatched while we were sleeping and bonded to us."

Mickey chuckled. "Well he might be useful when we face that monster that Riku was just telling us about."

"Mephilis?" I asked.

Mickey nodded. "Since he's a creature of darkness, having a light dragon will prove handy. But, what about this other friend you brought back? The raccoon?"

"Ah!" I said. "All I know is that his name is Sly Cooper and he was in a huge fight before landing in the Gummi Ship's storage unit.I was able to take care of his worse wounds before coming here."

"And what does your sixth sense tell you about him?" Roxas asked.

I looked at him. "You think he might be with the Heartless?"

"He is a raccoon." He told me. "And raccoons are creatures of the night, right?"

"Creatures of the night, yes." I said. "Creatures of the Dark? Not necessarily. I don't sense anything evil about him. Just that he needs help. If I sensed anything bad about him I would have thrown him off the Gummi Ship."

"Okay," Roxas said, holding his hands up. "No need to get defensive."

I sigh. "Sorry, I know you were just asking a question."

Roxas gave a rare smile. "Not a problem. It was a long couple of days after all."

Mickey smiled. He was about to say something when a blue-robed figure with a long white beard and tall blue hat came up. "He's awake if you wish to see him."

"Thank you Merlin." Mickey said.

If I hadn't been in a position that required I stay sane, I would have had a mini fan-girl moment. I grew up watching The Sword in the Stone and the Arthur legends, so seeing Merlin from The Sword in the Stone was a pretty dang cool moment. But I also sensed his magic. He was way stronger than Donald and that also made me stay were I was. Any closer and he would have hurt.

"Em?"

I blinked and blushed. I guess I did have a fan-girl moment. Mickey was looking at me, a little bit of worry on his face. "You okay?"

"Yeah!" I said, blushing more. "I'm good, lets see this guest."


	2. Names Sly, Sly Cooper

**Chapter 3: Names Sly, Sly Cooper**

Since Sly was new here, and I was the only person he saw, they agreed to let me go in first. Ty was practically beside me though with Metal and Solas right behind.

As I step inside, Sly already looked better. The blood that was clinging to his fur earlier was gone, and there was a brightness in his eyes that wasn't there before. He was still laying in the bed, his mask , gloves, boots and hat having been removed and his cane at the other side of the room. To me, he looked unpredictable, like a Sonic personality with a dash of Shadow's.

He looked at me as we entered, but he also watched the others as they entered the room. He was careful, and from the way he looked at everyone, he was sizing us up in case he needed to fight. So, I took the liberty to calm him.

"It's alright." I told him, making him look at me again. "We're not here to fight. My names' Emily Bridgestone. And these are my friends; Ty, Metal, Riku, Roxas and Solas."

Sly blinked and nodded. "Nice to meet you guys. I'm Sly, Sly-"

"Cooper." I finished. "You told me right before you passed out."

Sly blinked a moment, slowly remembering. "That's right, I did. Sorry, I was hit pretty hard before landing… where you found me."

"You were pretty beat up." Ty said. "What happened to ya?"

"Before I answer that…" Sly said, holding up a hand. "Where am I?… And _When_ am I?"

"Well…" I said. "I'm not sure about the when part. But you're in Disney."

"In Florida?" Sly asked.

I laughed. "That was my first question too. No, the real Disney. It's.. kinda hard to explain, since I'm still new at it."

"Alright," Sly said. "And what are you guys?"

Ty and I looked at each other before looking back at him and answering him at the same time. "Yep."

"But," Sly said. "Humans don't exist."

Ty grinned. "I thought the same thing about dragons until a couple days ago, when I was riding on one."

"And I thought the same about other people," I added. "Until they were in my dad's workshop."

Sly soon smiled. "I guess I've seen stranger. But humans have abilities right?"

I blushed. "Abilities?"

"No." Ty answered.

"Then, how did you heal me so fast?" Sly asked, looking right at me. "I did have a stab wound when I passed out."

I looked down. "It's complicated. I'll have to explain later. For now, how did you get into the Gummi Ship?"

"I was about to ask the same thing." Roxas said.

Sly looked at him but nodded. "Only fair I guess. My friends and I were rescuing my… Hopefully not ex-girlfriend, from a family enemy of mine. His name is Le Paradox, a skunk thief."

"So you're a cop?" I asked.

Sly grinned, the smile reminding me of Sonic when he was thinking of trouble. "No. I'm a Master thief, from a long line of Master thieves dating back to the stone ages. My girlfriend is a cop though. Our relationship is complicated… and a little hazardous. I'll have to explain it better later."

"I can imagine that." Riku said with a slight smile.

Sly looked at each of us again. "Think you can help me get home? I'm sure the guys are worried."

I look at Ty. "I don't see why we can't."

"Neither do I." Ty replied with a smile.

"Hold it!" Roxas said. "One; We don't know where in the Galaxy he lives. And Two; We have bigger fish to fry with the Heartless and the Door of Darkness. We can't just stop for any hitchhiker that happens into the Gummi Ship."

"You said yourself it's rare to nonexistent for other to just appear on the Gummies." I said.

"Heartless?" I heard Sly ask.

"Living shadows." I explained. "We're helping to fight against them"

"But I think we can make a detour to help someone out." Ty said, looking back at Sly. "Where do you live?"

"Earth, Paris." Sly replied.

"Not our earth then…" I said. "That narrows it down a bit… We just need a world that looks like home with people that look like Sly."

Roxas rolled his eyes but said nothing.

Sly smiled. "Thanks guys. I owe ya one."

"You don't owe us a thing." I said. It's our pleasure to help someone."

* * *

It wasn't until a couple weeks later that Sly was back on his feet. But We took that time to look for him home (Which wasn't all that hard to find since I recognized since I recognized him when I saw the dragons world in trouble) And to train. Ty was working on strengthening his abilities to command the Keyblades magic, while I worked out, fenced and trained Solas.

Since I didn't know the first thing about teaching a dragon how to fly or breathe fire, I was glad that Merlin helped. I had to work hard not to have another fangirl moment. Thankfully I was able to distracted myself with how he trained Solas. I let Merlin take over on the fire breathing (Which he told me wouldn't be until he was older) while I helped with the flying and speech. He was maybe a week and a half old, but he was a fast learner and quickly caught onto by gliding to me off of bookshelves in the library. As for the speech, I used easy words like the names of our team and other words that made up rough sentences. Within a day or two, he knew who everyone in the team was.

Soon Sly was back on his feet and got to watch him train to get back into shape. I was really thankful that he showed me an easier move called the rail slide, which I could do easily with my jet shoes.

Ty and I also got close. We walked through the villages of Disney (Which is pretty accurate to the theme parks) and even had a couple lunches together. This earned us a few odd looks from Riku and Roxas, but what did it matter? We were friends.

Soon everything was ready for the trip to Paris. It was funny how I became attached to places, because Disney Castle was becoming more and more like home to me. Like Angel Island did. It was almost hard to back up for a second time.

Solas sat on my bed and watched. "Were Team goin?" He asked. Guess his grammar still needs work.

"We're taking Sly home." Metal answered, packing his own bag.

"Why he no stay?" Solas asked.

"He says his team will be worried." I replied. "Just like if you were missing, we'd be worried about you."

Solas seemed to let this info sink in before standing and walking over to my bag. "Help pack?"

"Actually," I said, closing the flap to my pack. "We're ready to go. Metal?"

Metal was already at the door with his duffel bag on his shoulder. "Ready Em."

I smile and pick up my bag. "Lets get going then."

Solas trilled and followed us as we walked down the halls to where the Gummi Ship was waiting. Ty was also waiting there with Sly. They were talking about something but stopped when I came up. Ty smiled and waved. "Hey Em! Metal!"

"Hey Ty!" I said. "Hey Sly. Riku and Roxas running late?"

Ty nodded, kneeling to say hi to Solas. "They always are. Hey Solas! How are ya buddy?"

"Hi Ty!" Solas replied as Ty rubbed his head. "Hi Sly!"

Sly chuckled and knelt. "Hey little guy." he said and pet Solas' soft coppery mane.

"Glad you're back on your feet Sly." Metal said.

Sly grinned. "You can't keep a Cooper down for long. Too much action to see and trouble to get into."

I laughed. "You sound a lot like a friend of mine," I told him. "Even if he has a sprained ankle, you can't keep him on a couch for long."

Sly laughed as Riku and Roxas came up.

Solas was the first to see them and trilled. "Hi Riku!" He said running over to great them. "Hi Rockus."

Roxas blinked. "What did you call me?"

Solas blinked back. "Rockus."

I couldn't help but laugh. So Solas had a little trouble pronouncing Roxas' name. But I thought it was funny and decided that he'd grow out of it. Roxas grinned and knelt to the dragons height.

"Solas," he said. "It's pronounced 'R-O-X-A-S'."

Solas scrunched up his face and mimicked Roxas. "R-O-K-U-S…. Ruckus?

"No," Roxas said. "You hiss the middle."

So Solas tried again, but it didn't come out as we expected… "R-O-C-sssssucks."

That sent Ty and me to our knees laughing while Sly and Metal leaned against the Gummi ship. Metal had his hand on a knee while Sly held his middle laughing. Riku (Who was already on his knees) Was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. Poor Roxas had gone red, but he was also chuckling. because, like a kid learning how to talk, you can't help but laugh when they get it wrong and get something else.

"What I say?" Solas asked, hearing us laughing.

"Just…" Roxas said. "Stick with Rockus for now kid." He then stood and walked over, though I could tell he was trying not to laugh. "Come on! Paris is waiting."

"Eye eye Rockus." I said, getting my bag and climbing in with the rest of the team.

Sly seemed pretty impressed with the ship. I couldn't blame him, it looked like the Millennium Falcon once you step inside. Only much smaller. More like something from Firefly maybe…

There were only three rooms, so Ty and Sly were sharing a room while mMetal and I shared and Riku and Roxas shared. But Paris wasn't that far off, we'd be there by the afternoon Disney Time.

Riku took the controls and started up the ship. "Okay," he said. "Sly's Earth looks like an outskirt world, so we'll use a warp tunnel to get there."

"What's a warp tunnel?" Metal asked.

"A rough ride." Roxas said as he sat in the co-pilot seat. "So for when we get to the tunnel, I suggest you all head for your rooms and buckle down."

I gulp. I never had to deal with a warp tunnel before. I wondered if it would hurt my senses lilt the heartless did.

With that, Riku started the engine and took off. Solas trilled excitedly as he felt the lift. Sly laughed and pet him. "Bentley is going to flip meeting you guys."

"How so?" I asked.

"He's the brains of the gang." Sly explained. "He's an expert in most sciences, and seeing that humans and dragons are fantasy creatures in our world; he might be excited to meet you."

I was a little worried at this. Due to my unique genes, I was usually careful about scientists. But Bentley sounded nice, so it can't be too bad.

"What about your other friend?" Ty asked. "Murray?"

Sly smiled. "Good ol' Murray… You guys may need to convince him not to hug me too tightly."

I laughed. "I can't wait to meet them."

"You guys will be soon." Riku said. "There's the Warp Tunnel."

I look up and it looked like the top of a hurricane with a black middle. I gulped. From the looks of that thing, it was going to be a rough ride.


	3. Friends of Paris

_**Chapter 3: Friends of Paris**_

* * *

"You guys are Terrible!" I shouted jokingly at Riku and Roxas as they laughed in their pilot seats. Metal, Ty and Sly were also laughing as the Gummi calmly sailed through the warp tunnel. Sure it looked different from the regular travel, but it was smooth and short.

"You should have seen you're face!" Roxas said. "You actually went pale!"

I know I went pale, space travel made me uneasy. But right now, I was almost as red as Knuckles. I can't believe those two got me like that! I playfully punched their shoulders for tricking me, but I was also laughing. I could be pretty gullible…

Sly chuckled and put a hand on my shoulder. "We do the same thing to each other in Paris. But it's usually Murray who gets it."

"That's usually me in my family." I said. "From my little brother. He and Metal are always planning pranks."

Metal smirked. "Only because you jump or shout every time."

I look at the android. "And you don't?"

"I always have my scanners on Em." He told me. "You can't surprise me."

I smiled. "Challenge accepted."

Metal smiled back.

"This always happen?" Sly asked, looking at Ty.

"Yep." Ty said. "You should hear them argue or debate. It's rather entertaining."

"Well play nice back there." Riku said. "We're making a landing."

We quieted down as Riku made a decent to a field. The grass was tall and there were a few trees where we landed so we'd be well hidden. And the City of Paris wasn't far off either. It was late at night, making the city glow like a beacon.

Sly stepped off the Gummi ship and took a deep breath before sighing. "Feels good to be home." He said. "Thanks for the ride guys."

"No problem Sly," Riku said. "It was fun having you around."

I almost agreed with him, but my back suddenly tightened. Trouble. I look around before looking back at the guys. Ty nodded. "Sly, best come back into the ship until morning."

Sly looked at us. "Why?" He asked.

There was a low hiss in the grasses, making us all jump. Riku and Roxas drew their blades while Solas hissed at them from my side and metal drew his pistol from my other side. I saw movement in the grass as a roach-like thing emerged

"Heartless!" I shouted, drawing my sword as the Heatless came forward.

Roxas drove them back before looking at us, and for a second I thought I saw a glint in his eye. "Everyone back in the Gummi!" He shouted.

We didn't argue and went back inside, Roxas following close behind and closing the door. He growled and made his keyblade vanish again with Ty and Riku. "We're gonna have to wait tip morning…"

"It'll be harder to keep you guys hidden then." Sly said. "Humans are fairy tales here remember?"

I leaned back against the ships walls, flecking my spine to let it pop and relax. But I could still sense them outside. We were hoping to meet Bentley, Murray and this Carmelita that Sly seems fond about. Like a come in, say hi, drop Sly off and head back to Disney. But with the Heartless here, we'll have to stay to see whats attracting them. But Sly was right, We'd have to stay out of sight.

Metal was looking at me intently, but I could tell he was deep in thought as well. "What about Echidnas?…"

Sly looked at him. "They're not common, but they're around. Why?"

Metal smiles. "I think Em can go with you."

I blinked. For a second I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but then I remembered I had an echidna form. It hurt to get it, but someone had to go in and look around.

"What does he mean?" Roxas asked.

"Well…" I said. "Lets say sensing the Heartless isn't my only trick."

This time Ty smiled. "Your Echidna form! You might be able to fit right in." Slowly his smile faded. "Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine." I said. "I just need to rest on the Energy flow once in a while."

Ty looked unsure. Ever since we first came to Disney Castle, he seemed… more protective. Like a tree was going to jump and grab me, (Then again just a few weeks ago we were riding dragons so anything is possible at this point) But he didn't need to be this protective. "Will you be alright?" I asked. "It might get a little dull with Roxas in charge."

"Hey!" I heard Roxas shout, making everyone chuckle a bit.

"I'll miss the arguments." Ty said. "Just promise you'll be careful?"

"Where's the fun in that?" I asked. "But I'll try."

Ty smiled and hugged me. I hug him back, he is my best friend, so seeing him being protective was kinda comforting.

"You'd best get changed then." Metal said. "It takes a bit out of you to change."

I nodded and step back from Ty. I wasn't sure how chaos energy affected other humans, but I knew Riku and Roxas were in for a surprise. I grip the Emerald Shard and take a breath as Chaos energy started to flood into my arm. "Chaos, Transform!" I said, wincing a bit as the energy went shooting though my skin and muscles. My back was tense and sore at first, but the feeling soon passed as my auburn hair turned into dreadlocks. Reddish-Auburn fur covered my arms and a peach muzzle formed.

Soon the transformation was over and I knelt as an Echidna. I trembled a little from the change, but I knew I'd feel better in a hour or so. Turning back into a human will be easier than turning into echidna, that was for sure.

"Emmy?" Solas asked, coming closer and sniffing at me.

I smile at him. "It's me bucko." I said, looking up at the boys.

Both Rikus' and Roxas' jaws had dropped. Sly looked surprised but not as shocked. My guess was he was used to seeing strange stuff.

"I thought you said you didn't like magic." Riku said, getting control of himself and coming over to look at my new form.

"I thought you said you didn't have powers." Sly said, raising an eyebrow.

"One;" I said. "This isn't magic. It's chaos energy. Being a Protector I can use it. And two; I'm careful about what I tell people. Most humans don't have abilities like this. And it comes from me not being fully human."

Metal soon came to my side and helped me stand. I was a little taller than him in my echidna form, but I now came to Sly's chest instead of his shoulders. But with this form I could control Chaos energy better. I had yet to figure out a chaos attack with it, but it was stronger than my human form.

"Well," Sly said. "It could work. I could say that I'm a friend of your family and I'm…. taking you out shopping?"

I blinked but nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

"What did you mean earlier by 'Needing to rest on the energy flow'?" Roxas asked.

"Chaos Energy wears me out." I said, gaining my balance and now able to stand on my own. "I'm not sure how long I can go in this form before I start feeling the affects."

"What are the affects?" Sly asked.

I blush and look down. "I'm… not sure… The longest I've been in this form was only a few hours… maybe four of five hours tops."

Sly nodded. "Well, if you start to feel out of it, let me know and I'll find a place for you to change back and rest."

"Thanks Sly." I said.

"Welp." Riku said, looking at the door of the Gummi Ship. "Looks like we're not going anywhere until you two get us a way into the city. Since the Heartless are here we'll need to hang out until we find a way to get them out."

I smiled. "Sounds like fun to me!"

Sly laughed. "I like the way you think Em. We'll head out when the sun comes up."

I nodded and we soon went to bed. I liked sleeping in my echidna form, it was warmer than my human form anyway. It just worried me on having so much Chaos Energy inside me. Even now I could feel it tingling in my veins. For people who've never felt it before, it's a really bizarre feeling. But eventually I feel asleep, curled up in my blankets and hugging my pillow.

* * *

The next morning, Sly and I were up bright and early, packing for a day trip. Sly planned on getting me to their hideout so I could rest while he got his friends. He borrowed some clothes from Ty (Who was the closest to being his size) And we were off, But Metal had made sure I had my iPod on me so he could track me if there was trouble. Solas was mad that he couldn't come with me, but I couldn't risk him being seen by anyone.

The morning was cool and would have made me shiver if I was in my human form, but it was a comfortable temperature with my fur holding in the heat of the sun. As we walked, I kept a timer on how long I could stay in my Echidna form. I didn't want to be caught in the open too weak to fi-

"You said you're not fully human?" Sly suddenly asked, probably uncomfortable with the silence.

I nodded. "It's a long story."

Sly grinned. "It's a long walk."

I chuckled. "True. Lets see…. It started with a scientific project called Project Ada, a Prototype for another project called Project Shadow. Project Ada was a being with human and echidna DNA, and my great grandma. And Project Shadow turned out to be a good friend of mine, and my dad figure if my dad's not around."

Sly looked at me, quietly listening.

"She could use chaos energy as naturally as she could breathe. But as generations passed, that skill was kinda…. bred out of us. That's why it hurts me to use too much at once."

"Huh," Sly said. "It wasn't as long as I expected…"

I laughed. "That's without all my adventures and experiences."

Sly also laughed.

We chatted as we walked into the city of Paris. It was indeed a beautiful city! It almost made me wonder how the Paris looked back on my earth. The smells from the different shops were enchanting! Especially the bakery! Then again I didn't get a chance to eat back at the ship so I was hungry… and the smells weren't helpful. We were passing a bakery when my stomach finally demanded sustenance. Sly laughed, and I was thankful for my auburn fur covering my blushing cheeks. A few moments later, I was happily munching on one of three long john donuts.

We continued walking, and I couldn't believe how many different people were here; Leopards, wolves, dogs, cats, tigers, lions…. it was almost impossible to look at them all. The strangest thing was when I saw the wild animals. There were street dogs, that looked like my earth's domestic dogs. There were also rats and pigeons, cats… it was just like earth, only instead of humans, they were animal like humans.

Eventually, I started not to feel well. Like my energy was wearing out on me. I look at my watch, it was ten in the morning…. and I had changed around nine last night… That was maybe thirteen hours? Not too bad… But I needed to get out of the echidna form.

"Sly?" I asked. "How far off is the hide out?"

Sly looked at me, and apparently I wasn't looking to well, because he got a worried look on his face. "It's not too far. Thirty minutes maybe. Can you hold on until then?"

I nodded. Thirty minutes wasn't that bad. I could hang on until then. It was the longest thirty minutes I've ever seen. Sly said that we had taken a shortcut to shorten the time, but the minutes still felt like hours.

Eventually, Sly opened the door to an abandoned apartment that looked like it was fixed up. There were a few high-tech looking computers in a corner and the apartment had an upstairs where the stairs were a metal spiral.

I smiled at the place despite the affects of the chaos energy. "Not a bad place.." I said.

"Thanks." Sly said, still looking a little worried but not as bad. "You'd better change back into your human form before you fall over. You're starting to look pale."

I nodded and grasp my emerald shard again. "Chaos Transform!" I said, turning back into my human form. It felt weird having the energy leave my body like it was being sucked out by a vacuum, but I felt tons better after I was back in my human form. I stretch to get used to my longer limbs again, but my muscles felt weak like noodles.

"Need water or anything?" Sly asked, stepping into the kitchen. It was a good sized kitchen with a bar counter.

I shook my head. "Nah, I'm still full from breakfast. I think I'll rest for a bit though."

Sly nodded. "The couch is just around the corner, but there's a spare bedroom upstairs."

"Thanks Sly." I said, deciding to go to the couch. I was only going to rest, so I'd be back up in an hour or two.

"No prob Em." Sly replied.

The couch was an old brown one, but it was rather comfortable when I sat down and took my shoes off. No sooner had I laid down, I was sound asleep.

When I woke up, the sun was setting. I scolded myself for sleeping in so late, but I stretch and sit up. I really did need that rest. I felt more alert and ready. It was then that I noticed a wonderful smell. I look in the kitchen and see Sly pulling food out of funny looking containers. The looked either chines or mongolian.

Sly looked up and smiled. "Hey, I was starting to wonder if you were okay. Hungry? It's Mongolian."

I smiled. "Yes please." I said and come out to the kitchen. "Sorry I slept so long."

"Ah don't worry about it." Sly replied, handing me a plate. "It was a long morning after all. And I already sent Murray and Bentley a message that I was back."

"How'd you do that?" I asked, noticing that there was extra canisters of Mongolian food.

Sly smiled and held up a call-card that looked like a raccoon face with a mask. I smiled back, even if he left me here while he told his friends, I was glad I was awake to meet them.

It was a second later when I heard someone testing the handle of the front door. I stiffen and get ready for a fight out of habit at the sound. The last time I heard that sound we were ambushed by a dozen or so Heatless… I still have to replace the door to my house… and apologize to Sonic for blaming him for it…

"Sly?" Came a rather nasally voice. "Are you in there?"

Sly smiled and went to the door. On opening it, I saw that the speaker was a turtle in a rather cool looking wheelchair. He had a safari hat on and large glasses that made it hard to see his eyes clearly, but he didn't set any alarms off, so I didn't move.

"Hey Bentley!" Sly said with a big smile.

Bentley seemed shocked for a moment, but smiled at him as Sly bent down and hugged him. "Sly! I knew you would come back!" Bentley then noticed me over Sly's shoulder and just stared. "Where were you…?"

I step back a bit, feeling uncomfortable with the stare. Sly let Bentley go and smiled at me. "Don't worry Em, he's a friend. Bentley, this is Emily Bridgestone. Em, this is Bentley, the brains of our operation. Bentley, I'll have to tell you how I met her when Murray gets here."

"But…" Bentley said as Sly chuckled and pushed his chair inside. "She's… human! Humans don't exist!"

This time I chuckled. It felt kinda cool to be a creature of fantasy, like elves or dwarves. I walk over to him. "You can pinch my arm if you need proof."

Bentley looked at me and nodded. "If that's not too much trouble."

I smiled and offered my arm. He thankfully didn't pinch me, he just gently felt my arm, hand and fingers. He pressed hard enough to feel the bones under the skin, as if he was counting them and the joints. "Incredible…"

"Just wait till you meet the rest of my friends." I said,making him look at me.

"There's more of you?" He asked.

Sly and I laughed. "Three boys," Sly replied. "And an android and dragon."

Bentley's jaw dropped, making me laugh again. Poor guy, I wondered if Sly told him that he was bringing a friend for dinner. Speaking of dinner… "We saved you some Mongolian." I offered. "Hungry?"  
Bentley nodded. "I… I haven't eaten yet. I was too excited when I got Sly's message."

Sly laughed as he served Bentley a plate of the Mongolian. I sat down again, but a couple moments later the door just up and opened, revealing a very large, very pink hippo. He wore a wrestling mask with goggles and fingerless gloves. He also had a shirt, belt with a large buckle and white sneakers.

"SLY!" He shouted and come over, embracing Sly in a large bear hug.

"Hey Murray!" Sly said, sounding half choked. "I take it you missed me pal?"

"You bet we did!" Murray said. "We looked everywhere for ya after the blimp went down!"

"Murray," Bentley said, laughing a bit. "How about putting Sly down before you squish him?"

Murray laughed and set Sly down again. "Sorry little buddy. Hey Bentley, haven't seen ya in a while."

"It has been a while." Bentley said. "Glad to see ya again though."

Sly chuckled as he caught his breath. "Not a problem Murray." Sly replied.

Murray then saw me and we just looked at each other for a while. I soon smile and offered a small wave. Murray blinked and waved back. Sly laughed. "Murray, this is Emily. Em, this is Murray, the born of our operation."

I smiled and offered a hand to shake. "Nice to meet you Murray. Sly's told me a lot about you and Bentley here."

Murray smiled and shook my hand. "Nice to meet you too. Never thought I'd see a human though. I thought you guys were just fairy tales."

I grinned. "Well, in a way, you guys are fairy tales where I come from."

"Where is it that you come from Emily?" Bentley asked.

"Now that's a long story." I said. "But we did promise an explanation when Murray got here. So… Want some Mongolian Murray?"

"Yeah please!" Murray said.

I laughed and gave him a plate as I started explaining where I came from and how I met up with Sly. The guys listened quietly, but none of us noticed the large shadow perched outside. It was too far away for me to sense, so it just watched us for a while before opening a pair of wings and flew off again.


	4. Secret in the Stones

**Chapter 4: Secrets in the Stones**

"So let me get this strait…" Bentley said. "Sly landed in your ship, which is parked outside the city with three more humans, an android and a dragon?"

I nodded.

"And you're fighting these roach-looking things called Heartless?" Murray asked.

I nodded again.

Bentley hummed in thought. He seemed like the kind of guy who liked knowing all the facts before getting into a situation. Murray also seemed deep in thought, and this apparently wasn't totally normal, because Sly was the one that spoke up next. "What's up guys?"

Bentley looked at him before pushing a button on his chair, making a robotic arm come out and hand Sly a newspaper. "Your heartless sound familiar to a new gang of thieves called the Shadow Thieves." He explained.

"What?" I asked and stood to see.

The paper had a blurry picture of several cockroach looking beings leaving a museum with something…. two somethings, the leader had the first things and the back one had the second.

"I was able to clean up the picture." Bentley continued, pulling out his laptop and showed us the same picture, but cleaned up to show the heartless. One was carrying off a statuette, and another was carrying off a blue gem. "The statue is one of a set of four, as well is the gem." Bentley continued. "The caption on the exhibit said that the gems are Element Shards, and I guess they can control different elements. This blue one is supposed to control water."

I looked at the gem, but it was the statue that caught my attention more. "Can you zoom in on the statue Bentley?"

Bentley nodded and did so. I blinked; the statuette was an echidna in a kneeling position holding a dish. He was also in tribal cloths. It was an angel with his wings stretched back behind him. But it looked similar to some of the statues on Angel Island, only those were echidnas.

"I know that statue…" I said.

"You do?" The guys asked in unison.

I nodded. "I think it originally came from the Island I protect with my friends. Only, the ones I saw were built into the stone, and they had rings to hold the emeralds. But these are dishes… and they were Echidnas… not Angels..."

"Didn't you tell me there were two sets of some magical emeralds?" Sly asked.

I nodded. "Chaos Emeralds and Control Emeralds. But they were all accounted for last I checked. And that was three months before we left for my original home. But that's the wrong shape to be any of the emeralds. They were either spherical like pearls, or shaped like diamonds. But I can't help but think I know them somehow… the Angels anyway…"

"In the meantime then," Sly said. "Murray, mind if you could drive to the outskirts? We need to pick up the other humans, Metal and Solas."

"Sure!" Murray said.

"Sly, didn't you say these things attacked at night?" Bentley asked.

Both sly and I nodded.

"Then perhaps we should wait until morning." Bentley suggested. "That way we can learn more about what they're up to without anyone getting hurt."

"True," I said. "They did attack last night."

Sly sighed but nodded. "Alright. And it gives me time to try to figure out how to explain this to Carmelita."

"You haven't told her yet?" Murray asked.

Sly bit his lip and shrugged. "How can I tell her without her firing her Shock pistol at me?"

"You could steal the pistol." I suggested.

Sly laughed. "Nah, I'm already in hot water with her. But I can take care of that later on. For now, I'm thinking we should get some sleep before getting the rest of Emily's friends."

"Agreed." Bentley said. "And getting them shouldn't be too difficult with them being in a quiet spot."

"Unless Carmelita sees the van." Murray added.

"If that happens," Sly said. "I'll just explain things to her… if she doesn't shoot me first…"

I laughed. "Sounds like a dangerous lady."

Sly smiled. "She is, but that's the best part about her."

I smiled back. "I can hardly wait to meet her."

We all small talked after that until we finally went to bed. My guess was that they were used to the night life from their job. I was giving the spare room upstairs while Murray took the couch and Bentley slipped into his shell. I crawled into bed, but I wished Metal was there. I could hear the heartless outside and sensed them as they came and went, thankfully never stopping at the building we were in. When I did finally go to sleep, my sixth sense kept going off and giving me nightmares.

_One was of a large creature with glowing eyes that seemed to captivate mine. Ty and I were going somewhere but I couldn't help but know where the creature was all the time. At one point the Heartless were after us and Ty had vanished._

They had me cornered in an alley, and Esau landed in front of me. He smiled cruelly at me, making me freeze. He drew his Keyblade and approached, but suddenly a bright light lit up between us. Esau hissed and backed off with the Heartless.

"You're Dreaming Emily." Someone said, but the voice was coming from the light. "You're safe here. It's just a bad dream."

I tried to see who was speaking but I was slowly waking up.

I slowly opened my eyes to see Sly was sitting on my bed, looking at me with a slightly worried look. "Bad dream?"

I nodded. "The heartless are outside…"

Sly nodded in understanding. "Don't worry, you're safe here." He quietly pointed at the window. In the corner was a small cross. "My parents were Christian. They always told me that the safest home was one that was prayed over. Murray and Bentley helped out when we came here. I think it's one reason why the cops haven't found this place."

I smiled, already feeling safer again. I guess I should have guess Sly was a Christian, just the way he was so calm about situations. Like back at the Gummi Ship. "How'd you know I was having a hard time though?"

"I'm in the room under you." Sly explained. "You kept mumbling so I came to investigate. You okay?"

I nodded. "Better now. They passed by the place though."

"I doubt they'll come in." Sly said. "But you should get some sleep."

"Alright…" I said. "Um… pray with me real quick?"

Sly nodded. I sat up and I was surprised when he put his arm around me. We both closed our eyes and Sly prayed. "Lord, the enemy is causing Emily to loose sleep. We pray that you give her peace tonight so she can sleep. We thank you for watching over us and protecting us, and for giving me a way home. What ever these Heartless are up to, we pray you help us confront them and put a stop to it. And in Your name we pray, Amen."

"Amen." I repeat, feeling safe and suddenly exhausted. "Thanks Sly."

Sly smiled. "No problem kiddo." He said. "Now get some sleep, Okay?"

"Alright." I replied and laid down again.

Sly put the blanket back over me and went back downstairs. "Goodnight Em." He said as he left.

"G'night Sly." I replied, quickly falling asleep without anymore nightmares.

* * *

The Next morning I woke up to the smell on bacon and eggs and pancakes. I stretched and sat up, looking outside at the bright morning. The doves were flying as the early sunlight and there was dew on the leaves of the flowers that were outside my window.

I get dressed and go down stairs to see the guys making breakfast. Murray had a whole stack of Pancakes with butter on top, while Sly and Bentley had smaller portions with eggs.  
Bentley smiled as he saw me come in. "Morning Emily! Sleep well?"

"I did actually." I replied. "Cant wait to get the Heartless out of the city though."

"We can start planning that one out once we get the rest of the team here." Sly said as he served up a plate for me.

"Thanks." I said, takes the plate and a glass of orange juice.

"No Problem." Sly replied.

"Speaking of Getting your team here," Bentley said. "How did you get in Em?"

I smiled and held up my Emerald Shard. "This is a shard from a Chaos Emerald called the Master Emerald. I can change into an Echidna with it when I need to. But after about Thirteen hours it starts to make me feel sick."

"Why?" Murray said, having swallowed a pancake whole.

"Humans aren't supposed to use chaos energy." I explained. "It's because of an experiment about fifty years ago that I can use Chaos energy. My Great Grandmother was a prototype for an experiment, so that's where I come from."

"Fascinating…" Bentley said, the word strangely reminding me of Spock.

I laughed and ate my breakfast. Soon we were ready to get the guys. I changed into my Echidna form (Which got me a wonderfully shocked and surprised look from both Murray and Bentley) and followed Murray to the van. Sly said he wouldn't be joining us this round, and I had let Bentley hold onto my shard since he wanted to look at it. I wasn't sure about it at first, but it wouldn't take me thirteen hours to get there and back, so I figured it would be alright.

I directed Murray to the field and right up to the Gummi Ship. I could already hear Solas inside as Metal opened the door. The young dragon leaped out of the ship and tackled me much like a happy puppy would.

"Em! You was gone forever!" He said, pinning me to the ground but nuzzling me under my chin.

Murray had jumped back at the dragons sudden movement but didn't move otherwise. I could only laugh. "I wasn't gone forever Solas, just a night."

"Sure felt like Forever." Solas said, and I couldn't help but notice his speech was getting better.

Metal then came out with Ty, Riku and Roxas. Ty laughed when he saw I was under a mound of scales and wings. "Solas, how about letting her up?"

"No!" Solas said, laying on top of me. "Not for a while."

I laughed and pet his head. "I missed you too big guy. Be we have to get going."

Metal looked at Murray in a way like he was sizing him up. "Who are you?"

"I'm the Murray." Murray said. "Sly sent me out with the van to pick you guys up."

Ty also looked at him, but smiled. "Alright, we'll just get our bags and we'll be ready… that is if Solas will let Emily up."

Solas clearly didn't want to, but he was also curious about Murray. Murray stayed still while Solas walked up and sniffed his shoes and hands before looking up at Murray. "Never seen someone like you 'afore."

Murray knelt and looked at Solas. "Never seen a real dragon before. Can you really breath fire?"

"No." Solas said. "Merlin says I's too young."

"It's 'I'm too young' Solas. Metal corrected as he came out of the Gummi ship with his duffle bag.

Solas looked at him and tried again. "Merlin says I'm too young."

Metal smiled. "There ya go."

"Can he say Roxas' name right yet?" I asked, feeling that Solas had grown at least a year since I left last night.

"No…" Roxas, coming out with Riku and Ty. Riku was grinning though.

"It's actually really entertaining" Riku said.

"At least he hasn't said that I suck again." Roxas said.

"Did not!" Solas said, looking at Roxas.

"You did too squirt!" Roxas said.

I laughed. I had missed the guys. They made life interesting. But if Roxas wasn't careful, Jade would have him backed into a wall if he got her mad.

"Well," Murray said. "Everyone aboard! Em, since you're still an echidna you can ride up front. The rest of you should hunker down in the back."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Ty said.

We all clambered inside the Van and Murray drove off. I told the guys what we found out about the Heartless. Riku and Roxas seemed a little concerned, while Metal was clearly pondering it over. As I talked about the four angel statues, I couldn't shake the feeling that they were familiar in a way...


	5. Meomories and The Heist

Everyone seemed to be settling in pretty well. Bentley was pretty interested in Metal, and Poor Metal had to sit still for a while so Bentley could look him over. He had given my shard back, but asked to have it back in a bit.

Ty and Sly were chatting quietly, making me wonder what they were talking about. Riku and Roxas were talking with Murray and asking about the Heartless. So Solas and I were relaxing in my room, which I would be sharing with Solas and Metal while the guys slept downstairs.

I relaxed on my bed in my human form, feeling worn out from the energy I used. Solas was napping beside me with his head on my chest. I stroked his head and finger a pendant that I wore around my neck. It was a hand-made, Silver the Hedgehog pendant. I had a friend on earth in Washington who made it for me when I moved back to Colorado. He had a Sonic pendant and a Mega Man pendant, but I wondered if he'd recognize me if we met up again.

I smile at the fond memories. It was really hard to say goodbye to him, and I hoped he was doing well.

A knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts. "Yeah?"

Ty smiled as he came in. "Hey, how're you feeling?"

"Better. feel a little lousy, but I'll get there." I reply.

"Good." Ty said, coming over and sitting on the bed. "Well, Bentley said that the Heartless might be targeting another stone. It's just down the street a ways. And… We're wondering if you're feeling up to a heist."

"Do I have to stay in my echidna form?" I asked.

"Well…" Ty said. "It'll be after dark, so no."

I smiled. "Then I'm up for it."

Solas' eyes had opened and was looking at us. He soon yawned and stretched, his claws poking the blanket like a cats would. "Where're we goin?…" He asked sleepily.

"To teach you about precious gems." I replied and pets his scaly head.

* * *

_**"This is Wizard,"**_ Came Bentleys voice in the communicator in my ear. _**"You where you should be with Key Keeper, Little Fox?"**_

I rolled my eyes. I was Little Fox because of my auburn hair. "Yep I'm here." I replied quietly. I was on a rooftop with Ty, AKA Key Keeper, and Solas AKA Golden Boy. Solas huffed at the nickname, but he didn't argue. We over looked the museum, which was crawling with guards. I guess since the Heartless started showing up, they upped the security.

_**"What about you Talon?"**_

**"I'm ready."** Metal replied, sounding none too happy about the code names.

**_"And you-"_**/i

**"Bentley."** I heard Sly say over the line. **"I know that we're a little out of practice, but I don't think the code names are necessary. Metal, any sign of the Heartless?"**

"None so far." Metal replied. **"Em? You sensing anything?"**

"Not so far." I said. "But things are feeling eerie… it's hard to explain." It was hard to explain. It felt like something was waiting. Watching our every move. But I couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

**"Keep an eye on it then."** Metal suggested. **You ready with the get away Murray?"**

"Yep!" Murray said. **"The Murray's been born ready!"**

I shook my head. "Then lets get the show on the road. Riku, any Heartless nearby?"

**"Nope."** Came the reply. **"You guys are good to go."**

"Awesome." Sly said, and I saw him jump to the roof of the museum.

It was going to be a fast operation, Ty and I were to distract the guards while Sly took the Stone of Fire. Murray was our get away while riku and Roxas watched our backs. I think Ty and I had the funnest part of the job, since we were given slingshots and frozen peas. Thanks to Shadows Training, Ty and I both had great aim. And you gotta admit, it was fun watching the guards jump a foot when a pea hit them.

Metal and Solas acted as extra surveillance. With Metal's scanners and Solas' excellent eyesight and hearing, they were the eyes and ears for anything out of the ordinary. Yet I couldn't help but think that something was still watching us.

"You okay Em?" Ty asked.

I look over at him. "Yeah," I replied. "I was just never fond of being out after dark."

"Because of Robert?"

I nodded. It was getting dark when he had attacked me with his goons. I was vey lucky that Ty lived close by and had heard the fight, I would have been worse off then.

Suddenly an arm was over my shoulders and Ty was pulling me close for a hug. I didn't fight him, but I had stiffened in slight surprise at the hug. I soon smile and hug him back. It had been a long time since we last hugged, in fact, I think the last time we hugged was also when I was in my dark form. But he was also kissing me then.

"You'll be alright." Ty said. "Remember when those bats came and kidnapped you for Robert?"

I nodded. "How could I forget?"

Ty chuckled. "Well, I want you to remember that no matter where you go, I'll find you. Okay?"

I smile. "Thanks Ty."

**"You two love birds do know that your com is on right?"** Came Roxas' voice in my ear, making me suddenly blush.

Ty let go and put a finger to his ear. "You shouldn't be eavesdropping!"

**"Kinda hard to eavesdrop when you guys are talking in our ears!"** Roxas commented back.

I couldn't help but giggle a bit.

**"But it was a pretty good promise Ty."** I heard Sly say.

This made me blush more. "Did you all hear that?"

**"We all bear witness Em."** Metal said, but I could hear the others snickering a bit. Note to self; remember to turn down the coms now and then.

I decide to change the subject a bit. "Um, how's it going in there Sly?"

**"Going good. I'm almost there."** He replied.

"Good, keep us posted?"

**"We will."** Sly said, but I could hear the smile in his voice.

Ty and I got back to work tormenting the guards with our frozen peas, but then I thought I saw something. I looked down and saw three people run through an alleyway, but one looked eerily familiar. I watched them for a moment before another bit of movement caught my eye. I look and noticing an odd shape had settled on top of a pole. At first it looked like a football, but my back tightened and I move closer to Ty. "Ty… Whats that?"

Ty looked at me then looked at the thing. He glared at it.

**"What's what Em?"** I heard Riku ask.

"It's some shape on a pole." I answered. "Its…. south of you guys."

There was silence for a long moment, at least until the shape opened large wings, revealing two haunting yellow eyes. That's when I heard Bentley gasp. **_But…. that's impossible!"_**/i

**What is Bentley?"** I heard Sly ask.

The thing screeched and took flight. Sly must have been looking out a window because he also gasped. **"No…"** He said. **"No, no no no no NO! He's dead though! How is he here?"**

"Who Ringtail?" Came a female hispanic voice.

**"Clockwerk!"** Sly replied, almost yelling. **"Em! Ty! Get out of there!"**

He didn't have to ask us twice. Ty gripped by hand and pulled, almost dragging be to the fire escape. I follow, but we're suddenly knocked to the ground. I scream in pain as I felt something sharp connect to my body, sending Ty and me to the center of the roof. Pain rang through my skull as the back of my head hit the hard rooftop, making me grunt and hold where I was hit.

I was only barely aware of Ty yelling my name. In fact, I was barely aware of anything. Everything around me was a blur of sights, sounds and feelings, all clouded by a dark fog of the pain.

I laid there dazed while the others fought in almost a blur. I saw metal throw something at the metal blob… it looked like a robotic chicken with a broken beak. There were also bright orbs flying at the chicken. I think I lost track of time at that point, because before I knew it, I could hear voices buzzing around me and felt hands. They were small, so I think they were Bentleys. He touched where I had hit my head, making me wince and whimper a little. I then felt my eardrums pop, my guess was that Metal scanned me. Before I knew it, larger arms lifted me, but it was at that point I fell unconscious.

* * *

_I was standing in front of a burnt house. There was still framework, but it looked like what a cardboard house would look like if burned half way through. There was a boy standing closer to the ruins, holding a few flowers._

I remembered this day. It may not have been the best day ever, but it was the start of several months of a friendship.

"What are you doing here?"

Suddenly my arm was pulled back, the wounds from Robert being stretched and making me yelp in pain.

I look at the boy. He had dark hair and hard eyes, and his voice was just as hard. He was now standing in front of me, letting me see that he wore two pendants made of metal. One was clearly Sonic the Hedgehogs logo, and the other was Mega Mans.

He saw the picture in my hand and glowered before snatching it away from me. "Keep out of my stuff New Girl!" He shouted as he let go and walked away. 

* * *

I simply laid there, lost to my unconsciousness and glad to escape the pain for now. That is until I felt a gentle hand wipe something off my cheek. Slowly I started to become aware of everything around me. I was in a soft bed, there was something wrapped around my head and middle. I slowly opened my eyes so see I was back in the lair. the morning sun was shinning in making me blink a little.

"Em?"

I look over and see Ty sitting on the edge of my bed. He looked relieved, but still a little worried. "Hey," He said. "You okay?"

I nodded. "I have a headache though.."

He smiled at me. "I kinda figured since you hit the back of your head."

I carefully reach back and tenderly touch where I hit, now realizing that my head was bandaged. "What happened?"

Ty was about to answer, but Sly had poked his head in. "I thought I heard talking. How're ya feeling Em?"

I smile at him. "Better than before I guess. But what happened?"

Sly's smile faltered a bit. "An old enemy. We all thought that he was destroyed forever. I guess he wasn't. But his name is Clockwerk, and he's been hunting Coopers for generations. That's why he's mostly robot now, he replaced his organic parts with metal so that he'd continue living."

I shudder, remembering what Robotnic did to the Mobians. But I couldn't imagine someone wanting that fate and doing it to themselves willingly. As Sly explained about Clockwerk and what had happened last night, Metal, Murray, Bentley, the boys, Solas and a female fox came in, very suddenly filling my room. They all took turns in sharing what had happened, and I guess I missed quite a fight.

The heartless were close to getting me since I was down, but the boys took care of them while the Cooper gang took care of Clockwerk. My guess was that the heartless were stronger this time.

"Metal threw something at Metal," Sly said. "but I didn't get to see what it was, and he won't tell us what it was."

"I said I wouldn't until Emily was awake." Metal said. "And now that she is, it was a tracer. It landed on the inside of his left leg as he was flying away. We'll be able to track him easier that way."

"And why would you want to track him?" The fox asked, in a smooth hispanic voice.

"Simple." Riku said. "He showed up right as the Heartless do. Heartless feed off the darkness in peoples hearts and swarm around the darkest heart they can find until there's nothing left of it and turn their 'Meal' into a heartless."

"But if the heartless are here…" I said, carefully sitting up. "Then Mephilis is here too. And Robert."

"Who?" Bentley asked.

"A couple of our old Enemies." Ty explained.

"Sly, you said that Clockwerk was willing to trade his living parts for metallic parts right?" Riku asked, getting a nod from Sly. "Then Mephilis muth be using Clockwerk to fuel the heartless. That's why they were so strong in that fight."

"Wait," I said, getting everyones attention. "Did you get the statue?"

Sly smiled and the fox glared. "I did." He said. "So it'll buy us a little time to figure out what they want with them. Oh! Emily, this is Inspector Carmelita Foxx. Carm, this is Emily, she helped me out when I appeared on her ship."

Carmelita and I looked at each other for a moment, but she soon smiled and offered to shake my hand. "A pleasure to meet you Emily. And thanks for bringing Sly back so I can eventually arrest him."

I chuckled and shook her hand. "The pleasure is mine. Sly told us a lot about you."

"But now the question is," Solas said. "How's Em going to join us for the fight? She's too hurt."

"That's easy Solas." Riku said. "Ty, you've studied on Cure right?"

Ty nodded.

"Then this should be easy." Roxas put in. "Ty, pull out your Keyblade."

"Key…what?" Carmelita asked.

Sly chuckled and put a hand on her shoulder. "Trust me Carm, this is pretty cool."

Ty did as he was told, extending his hand and bringing out his keyblade, which he dubbed as The Angels Creed, since there was a blade the exact opposite of it called the Devils Creed. Carmelita had jumped at the sudden appearance of the blade, and blinked when Riku and Roxas summoned theirs.

"Em," Riku said. "Could you lay down again for us?"

I nodded and laid down. It felt good to lay down since my head was throbbing now, but I was ignoring it best I can. Ty followed Riku's and Roxas' lead as the three of them crossed their Blades over me. I could already feel an energy sparking between them.

"You know the word, right Ty?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah," Ty said. "I remember. Cure was the first one that Mickey taught me."

"Alright," Riku said.

I took a breath and relaxed. I remembered Ty working with King Mickey on this trick, but I didn't think I'd be subject to it.

"Leigheas," Ty murmured.

I breathe in again as a warm, comfortable wave of energy flowed in from the Keyblades. It felt similar to Chaos Energy, but without the pain in the beginning. I smiled as the warmth spread into my arms and to where apparently one of Clockwerks claws had gotten me. The warmth continued until it reached my head where I hit it. At first it felt like I had a fever, but then it felt comfortable again and I almost fell asleep again.

But soon the warmth left me and I woke up from my 'almost-asleep' state. I stretch, all the pain in my side was gone. I sit up and touch my head, again there was no pain. "Dang that worked great!"

"You're completely healed?!" Bentley asked.

"I am." I replied. "And I'm ready to get a Buzzard."

Metal smiled. "There's the Em we know."

Sly also smiled. "So am I. It's high time to be rid of that bird once and for all.

"And I know just where he is." Metal said. "A water Tower thirteen miles North-West from here."


	6. The Water Tower

**Chapter 5: The water Tower**

I wasn't long before Bentley was making a plan. It still amazed me at how hightech his tech was. In my opinion, what Bentley had would put Tony Stark and Jarvis to shame.

We were all in Bentley's lab, where he could formulate the plan better. You wouldn't believe all the stuff in there! There were shrink rays, heat rays, a crossbow with odd looking darts and several other things. But there were also other, non-weapon experiments. There were plants in glass boxes with differently colored lights with lables saying 'Amazon', 'Sahara', 'Tropical' and 'Mountain'.

"Alright," Bentley said, walking over to a table and flipping a switch, bringing up a touchable hologram. "The water tower that Metal found is pretty big, but it's also abandoned. Wich makes it easier. We'll need to do a quick recon before we settle on any real plans. But after looking over the blueprints, I found a few advantage points here, here and here." He circled the advantage points, a couple being lofts that were high up and one being under the floorboards.

"The lofts will be where the photos will be taken," Bentley explained. "The Floorboards will be trickly though, since it's another loft but the one closest to the water."

"I can handle it." Sly said. "But what pictures can I get when under the floor boards?"

"You won't need the camera for that one." Bentley said, handing him a small device. "You'll put this bug there and get back out. Then we can hear what they're up to."

"Sounds great to me!" Murray said.

"Don't you guys usually have a safehoue though?" Carmelita asked.

"I was almost at that point." Bentley said, typing on the keyboard in front of him, making the map zoom out. "We'll set up a safehouse here. in the attic of this old restraunt. We'll be out of the way, yet it'll be easy to get to the Water Tower. Any questions?"

"Yeah," Murray said, looking at Carmelita. "You won't be calling the rest of the cops on us will ya?"

"Not this time Murray." Carmelita answered. "Believe me, I want Clockwerk perminently gone like you guys. I'll let this one slide."

"Thanks Carm." Sly said, smiling lightly. "I'm ready when you guys are."

"Alright," Bentley said. "But first things first." He rolled over to me and offered a watch. "I was thinking how you can turn into an echidna, and how it makes you sick afterwards. So, I made ya this. It's a Chaos Regulator. The shard is inside, so when you turn this dial, it opens up the chaos field and turns you into an echina without the comand. And it's on a nerve on the back of your wrist, so it won't surround you and hurt your back, It'll go strait in."

I blinked. "Thanks Bentley," I said, gentley taking the watch and putting it on. I could sense the chaos energy, but like Bentley said, it didn't hurt.

"Mind trying it out real quick?" Bentley asked. "I thought it might be useful for this mission."

"I don't see why not." I said, giving the dial a twist. Instantly I felt the chaos energy flow into me from my arm, and already I felt the changes as a light covered me. A moment after the light was gone, I was back in my echidna form, with surprisingly more energy than I had before. I stretched and walked around, but it felt like I was born in this form. "Works like a charm! Thanks Bentley!"

Bentley smiled. "Not a problem. I'm just glad it works."

"So we're ready for the heist or not?" Roxas asked.

Solas looked at him. "It's the middle of the day though."

"That shouldn't be a problem." Ty said. "We could just do what we did getting into Paris. Hide in the back of the van till we're there, then hang out there until the night."

Metal thought this over. "Sounds logical to me."

I smiled. "Then lets get going shall we?"

* * *

The safe house looked harmless enough during the day. But once the sun set and the Heartless were out in the streets, I just wanted to stay inside. They felt worse than they did back at my house, but Riku said to expect this since they were stronger than usual thanks to the hatred and the darkness they were feeding off of Clockwerk. I sat next to Ty as Sly went out for Recon work. I couldn't help but sit and stay still as the Heartless scurried around like bugs outside.

"You're doing great Sly." Bentley said, watching Sly's movements from the Binocucom.

"All the heartless seem busy." Riku said. "So that makes the job a little easier."

**"Thanks Guys."** Sly said as he slipped inside the water tower.

Ty smiled, but I stiffened as the first picture came in. Robert Hopkins, with his favorite insect robot Zong Li. They seemed to be working on a statue with the red stone that they captured.

"That's Old Robert." Ty said. "He's the one that Em and I have the most trouble with."

**"He's not the only odd one in here…"** Sly said. **"And there's a familiar face here too Bentley."**

"Sly, we know that Clockwerk is there." Bentley said.

**"Not Clockwerk Bentley…"** Sly replied, sending another picture.

The picture was of a mouse in a yellow jump suit and goggles. She had blonde hair and her ears were low. I heard Bentley gasp a little as he opened the picture. "Penelope…"

**"Afraid so…"**

"But even Penelope wouldn't join Clockwerk and this Robert guy." Murray said.

"Sly, keep bring in pictures." Metal said, looking hard at the picture. "Bentley, can you get a close up on her face?"

Bentley nodded and zoomed in. Penelope looked kinda tired; her eyes were at half mast, her shoulders sagged, and there was nearly no expression in her face.

"I recognize that look." Riku said. "Looks like she's in a trance of some kind. Mickey said I had that look before Sora brought me back to the light."

"Then there might be a chance that she's… Still herself." Bentley said. By the sound of his voice I had a feeling he and Penelope were close at one time.

**"That's not all guys."** Sly said, sending more pictures from a different angle.

The boys, Metal, Solas and I all gasp at seeing who was standing over the enslaved Jade and Joe. Esau. The Dark Angel Keyblader that stole a young Dragons wings to make The Devils Creed, a Keyblade that was the complete opposite of Ty's Angel Creed. He still looked beat up from our last encounter, but the Kingdom Blast that the boys did on his should have ended his threat.

Ty, Riku and Roxas looked stiff. I'm sure they were shocked to see he was still alive as well. Riku affirmed this by pointing him out. "He's trouble. He has a Keyblade that's Ty's opposite. He stole dragons wings from a hatchling to make it."

Solas snarled. He would have been one of the hatchlings solon if Ty and I hadn't intercepted an egg raid and grabbed his egg. It was hard to believe it was only a month ago that he had hatched. He was already as big as a german shepherd and he was practicing flight.

"Who are those two?" Carmelita asked, pointing at Jade and Joe.

"They're a couple of good friends of ours." Ty answered. "Robert used them to release a monster called Mephilis. A Monster Emily and a friend called Silver trapped a year back."

"Two years back for me." I added. "Mobius time moves faster than Earth Time."

**"So it's looking like more like a rescue mission."** Sly said, almost whispering.

"Looks like i-" I started. "Wait, we're getting them out of there?"

**"Of course."** Sly said. **"We can't leave them here. And I would like to see if Penelope is under a spell or something."**

Bentley smiled. "Thanks Sly."

**"Not a problem Buddy."** Sly replied, and I could hear water behind his whispering. **"And the bugs in place."**

"Great!" Bentley said, turning it on.

On the other end of the bug, I could hear Sly making an escape, but I also heard Robert's voice and a few others.

"How much longer will that statue take?" Asked a gruff voice, wich I knew belonged to Esau.

"Soon." Robert replied. "I don't read Old Mobian very well… and this version of it is different than others."

"How different?" Esau asked.

"They're more like circles." Robert said. "But we're getting there. As we americans say…. 'Chill Out."'

I snicker a little. Even if Robert's my sworn enemy, it was funny to hear him be a pain to someone.

Sly soon enters through the window. "What I miss?"

"Not much." Riku said.

"Sounds like they're trying to decode something on the statue though." Metal said.

We continue listening to them.

"I have something!" Robert exclaimed, and we hear a rustle of papers. "It says that the Four Angels of the Four Winds guard the Secret to the Key. Four angels…"

"It means the Angels of Revelation." Esau said. "They stand at the four corners of earth at the end of days, to hold back the wind. Think this is one?"

"I'm sure this is one of the Statue Angels that we need." Robert replied. "Since this is the only angel I've seen with these carvings. The other angel those Heartless lost was a faulty anyway. A replica."

Sly scowled. I guess he was like Rouge; He hated getting a replica when the real deal was much better.

"The inscription talks about Seven Servers, and Four Keepers." There's typing. "Looks to me like there's Seven statues of kneeling angels, and four like this one. We'll need these stones. Each represents an element. The Element we got here is water, so all we need is fire, earth and air."

Riku and Bentley were instantly writing down notes, but I saw Metal grin. He was recording it! But why wasn't he…. My eyes widen at how devious Metal could be. He wasn't going to tell the guys he was recording it…. yet. My attention went back to the audio as a new voice chimed in.

"And these statues will open the door?" Asked a very mechanical voice. Sly shuddered at the voice, and I could only guess it was Clockwerk.

"They will aid in opening it." Robert replied.

"Well," Bentley said, looking over his notes. "Looks like we'll have a lot to do for this heist. We need to get Jade, Joe and Penelope out and get that angel."

"Couldn't agree more." Solas said. "Since they got the real one before us."

Sly bit his lip, and did I hear Carmelita Snicker at him.

"A bit out of practice Ringtail?" She asked.

Sly blushed. "Maybe just a bit, but that just makes this heist all the more fun."

"Then here's the plan," Bentley said, typing on his computer. "An EMP bomb should knock out the robot insects and knock Clockwerk out for a while. That'll give Metal and me enough time to get into him and really shut him down. Murray, you're in charge of getting the captives out. But be careful, I'll bet they won't follow quietly."

"I can help with that." Solas said. "I remember Mr. Merlin saying something about a poisoning darkness. And since light banishes the dark, maybe I can help free them."

"Good idea Solas." Bentley said. "So you'll go with Murray to free the prisoners. Sly, Carm, you guys are to take care of Robert and get that stone and angel. Shouldn't be too hard, but still keep your guard up. From what Em tells me, he's a slick one. Em, Ty, Riku and Roxas, you guys will take care of that Esau guy."

Roxas smiled. "Sounds good to me. Esau looked pretty beat up in the picture, so he should be easier this round."

"Good." Bentley said. "Then after Clockwerk and the robots are down, we'll jump in durring the confusion. I'll even throw in some smoke bombs to add to their confusion."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Murray asked. "The Murray is ready for action!"


	7. The Heist, Take Two

**The Heist, Take Two**

My heart wouldn't slow down. It was pounding so hard that I could hear it pounding in my ear. Ty had put on his Chrome Wings and I was standing close to him, with Riku and Roxas on either side. Each of us had drawn our swords… or blades in this case.

Ty tightly gripped my hand as we waited for everyone to get into place. It didn't feel like Mephilis was here, but I was still worried, and he could tell. I look at him as he grasped my hand. He blinked, but smiled, mouthing 'It'll be alright.'

I smile back and take slow breaths in an attempt to calm my racing heart. I look around, where everyone was getting into position. Sly and Carmelita were safely hidden above Robert and the Stone angel, metal and Bentley were over in Clockwerk's area, where the old bird appeared to be resting. I look down; the floor of the water tower was literally crawling with robotic insects, the Mantises standing as tall as my dad, at least 6ft tall. At a small back door, Solas and Murray silently waited for the smoke bombs and EMP. A little ways to my right, their left, were Jade, Joe and Penelope. They each sat quiet in a row, but Esau was right standing guard over them. We'd need to distract him before Murray and Solas could do their part.

My hand trembled nervously, making Ty squeeze it tighter. I knew chaos was going to fill the room once those bombs went off.

Suddenly, Bentley dropped the EMP. It went off as soon as it hit the floor, and a second later all of Robert's insects (Except for Zong Li) fell into useless heaps on the floor. Clockwerk looked like he was smacked in the head with a baseball bat as he stumbled a little and fell.

"WHAT?!" Robert shouted, but Bentley was already throwing the smoke bombs.

"That's us!" Riku shouted, leaping into the fray.

The rest of us follow almost without thinking. Watching Ty with his wings was pretty cool, and I wondered if I looked that way in my super form. The train of thought was stopped instantly as we landed, catching Robert's and Esau's attention.

Robert's glare bore into me. We stared angrily at each other for a moment before Sly knocked him down with Carmelita.

"Keybladers…" Esau growled, leaving the captives.

Ty raised his blade, Riku and Roxas doing the same. "Esau," Ty said. "Here I thought we saw the last of you."

Esau grinned, summoning his Keyblade. It was a blade that looked like an outstretched dragons wing, making my stomach churn from remembering how it was forged. On the Keychain, was a pair of Dragon wings. This made me ponder now and then if he could get a pair of extra wings with his black feathered wings.

"You can only dream of such." Esau said. "Now I'm prepared for you."

"Are you now?" Riku asked. "That's highly doubtful."

"Lets test that out then!" Esau shouted as he attacked.

The three of us blocked, but I was still surprised at how fast and hard he attacked. But I was glad that Robert's Robots were down, otherwise we'd be in deeper trouble.

The three of us took turns in fighting Esau, but he kept pushing us back with his massive wings. It almost felt like it was three on three. Every now and then I'd catch a sudden flash of light that Solas let off. I glanced that direction to see Murray and Solas were trying to get Penelope, Jade and Joe out, but they were fighting back.

"SLY!" I heard Carmelita shout.

I look over to see that Sly was dangling over the edge of floor we were fighting on. I knew Sly couldn't swim well, so if he fell now, it was possible he'd drown!

"Go!" I heard Ty yell. "We'll take care of Esau! Go on!"

I nod and charge at Robert, kicking him away from Sly. Robert fell on his back from the force of my kick, but I was clearly shaking. I didn't realize until now how much Robert scared me.

Robert looked at me and glared as Sly got back on the platform. "Bridgestone…" Robert growled. "I thought we'd meet up sooner or later."

I didn't answer, I just raised my sword, ready for a fight. Sly stood beside me. "Why do you hate Emily anyway?" Sly asked, much to my surprise.

"She ruined my life!" Robert shouted. "She sent me to an asylum, where I was mostly abused by other patients. I have a right to justice."

"From what I understand." Sly said, eyes locked on Robert. "She was protecting the kids _You_ beat and abused. Looks to me like she did you a favor for sending you there… you just never saw the lesson. You have _No_ right to justice… because there's no justice to be had from her."

Robert's eyes flashed angrily and attacked, using his cane as a club. Sly and I dodged his attack, but Sly had a fair smack in the ribcage. Sly yelped in pain, but before Robert could make another attack, Carmelita fired a shot at him from her shock pistol. She missed, but Robert had backed off a little.

I helped Sly get up, and he gave Robert a very dangerous glare. "Your hatred is blinding you Robert!" Sly warned him. "It'll end up being the death of you some day!"

Robert smiled, but it wasn't a pleasant one. "You don't think I know that? This feud will only end with the death of one of us. If it's me, she had the better hand. If it's her, I'll begin a new life. Either way, I'm, free of her!"

Robert lunged for me, only for Ty to rush over and tackle him. I watched as the two tumbled over each other and into the water bellow us. "TY!" I yelled and looked over the edge at the water.

I could see two silhouettes moving in the depths, but it was too dark to see anything else. My spine suddenly tightened, causing me to look up and see two Police-like Heartless taking the angel away. "No!" I shout and attack with my sword blazing. The two Heartless hissed at me, but didn't attack, they faded against the wall and fled, but I had managed to get the Water Stone.

Riku and Roxas were still fighting Esau, but he was backing down, seeing as his master wasn't there to fuel him, and the heartless were abandoning the place. He swiped at Riku and Roxas before taking flight in escape.

I ran for the edge of the water, took a breath and dove. I heard Sly shout my name, but I had to get Ty. I was already a good swimmer, but I was swimming faster than I usually , I just hoped I was strong enough to get Ty out. The water was surprisingly chilled, that would be a problem. But I soon spot Ty. I looked for Robert, but he was getting away with the help of a water spider that fished him out. I swim down for Ty, to my horror he wasn't moving. I grab him around his chest and pulled. Even in the water he was heavy. I hear another splash above me, looking up I saw Murray had dived in to help. I couldn't help but smile, of course he could swim! He was a Hippo after all!

He gripped both of us as a harpoon shot into the water with a rope. Bentley. I held onto Murray while he held onto Ty and he climbed up the rope. My lungs burned for air as we approached the surface, so I gasped and coughed, gulping down the fresh air. Ty However, didn't make a sound.

"Help them up!" Bentley said, Sly, Carm and the guys all helping to get us out of the cold water.

Murray seemed alright, but I was still coughing and shaking from the cold. Metal gently draped a blanket over me, but I was more worried about Ty. He seemed to have been unconscious.

"Ty!" Riku shouted, shaking him a little. "Ty! Wake up!

"Let me see him!" Metal said, walking over and scanning him over. He then started pressing in his chest, working the water out of his lungs. "Em!"

I nodded, pinching Ty's nose and opening his mouth, gently breathing into him. Once I had finished, Metal pressed on his lungs again. Suddenly, Ty stiffened and started coughing up water as well.

"Ty!" I shouted and hugged him, sharing the blanket.

He didn't answer as he was still gasping for air, but accepted the blanket. Riku smiled. "You scared us for moment Ty." He said.

Ty smiled back, gently hugging me. "I…. scared myself…" He whispered, still catching his breath.

Sly smiled at us.

Through my shivering I looked up at Murray and Solas. "Jade? Joe and Penelope?"

"We got them." Murray said. "They put up quite a fight, but nothing The Murray and The Solas couldn't handle."

Solas puffed his chest up, proud of the Heroic title. This made me laugh, the little hatchling had quite an ego. Then again, dragons were prideful creatures.

I look over at the disabled CLockwerk. I thought he'd be a tougher fight. But then again Metal had suggested the EMP on him, maybe no one thought of using one on the old bird.

Bentley Followed my gaze to the monster. "I'm glad that EMP worked on him." He said, speaking my thoughts. "Wish we thought of that earlier."

"Well, It may not have worked before." Metal said. "Looking over him I think that he was still being repaired."

"The biggest question now is what to-" Sly was saying when a metallic creek caught our ears. We all turn slowly to look at the buzzard. He didn't move. Metal scanned him and his eyes widened. "He's unstable…. He's gonna fall!"

"Everyone out!" Carmelita shouted.

Murray picked Ty up and rushed out while Metal scooped me up and we raced for the door. The creaking increased as Clockwerk fell to the wood floor, crashing through the wooden ledge and into the water bellow. That didn't slow him down though. The impact was strong enough to break the walls of the water tower, sending a wave of water come gushing out of the tower as if a bomb had gone off inside the tower.

Sly had picked Carmelita up and was Rail-sliding down spiral stairs that went up to the tower. Murray ran as fast as he could down the stairs, Solas gripping rightly to his shoulders. Bentley had it easy, using the jetpack built into his wheelchair, he was able to fly out with Metal behind him, using the jets Tails had put in his shoes. Riku and Roxas Ran with Murray, Riku holding the Water Stone.

Metal paused in mid air and looked back. I watched the water flood through the town, several windows lighting up and people looking out at the flash flood. Sly was safe on the roof tops as Murray and the boys climbed up a fire-escape, all three being careful not to be seen. Bentley, Metal and I soon joined them as the water slowed and looked like a shallow lake in the middle of town. Clockwerk was still visible under the water tower, looking mangled, but still put together.

Sly stared at the old bird, and I could see a distant pain in his eyes. It made me wonder what the buzzard did to him… why there was such hatred in him towards Sly. This train of thought made me think of Robert. Why did he hate me so? All I did was stand up to him in school. I didn't think it would make him hate me like that.

"And here I thought he was gone." Sly said.

Carmelita gripped his hand. "We'll be rid of him soon Sly." She said. "I'll call up Interpole to take care of him. Put him somewhere no one can get him."

"Why not the Atlantic Abyss?" Ty suggested, making everyone look at him. He shrugged. "Worked in a movie."

"Transformers?" I asked.

"It's seven miles deep in the Atlantic." Ty said. "It would make it hard for anyone to get him. And he doesn't have robotic buddies to go fishing for him."

Carmelita laughed. "I'll run it by them. But, you guys better get back to hideout. Interpole will be here shortly."

"You're not arresting us?" Sly asked with a slight smirk.

Carmelita smirked back. "Not this time." She turned and started walking away, but stopped. "I'll have to think about next time though."

Sly smiled. "I'll see you soon then. Keep an eye on the jewlers down main street."

Carmelita chuckled. "I'll be there." With that she walked off.

"Think she's forgiven you Sly?" Bentley asked. "It didn't sound like it to me..."

Sly only smiled. "It's close enough. Lets get the captives back to the hideout."

We all nodded and piled in the van. It was a little crowded this time, but it also held a sleeping Jade, Joe and Penelope. Bentley stayed close to Penelope the whole trip back, and carried her inside once we were at the hideout.

Murray took Joe while Roxas took Jade, laying them on the couches while penelope took Bentley's bed. Solas slept between the Jade and Joe, sharing his light with them to draw them back from the shadows that stole them.

I was still shaken up from the fight, so I slept with Metal and Ty. Metal slept with his back against a wall, but thankfully Sly had an inflateable matress. No one did much talking, we were all too tired for that. And I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow that night.

* * *

In the field outside of Paris, The Gummyship lay quiet and still, hidden by branches and leaves. Inside was dark, and with the engines off, it made it perfect to prepare a trap.

Mephilis materialized inside the ship and opened the door. he knew the Heartless would be shoved out of the ship once it turned on, so he brought in a new weapon developed by Robert. Shadow Guards. Insects with a Heartless inside them. The Robots having been made by a man filled with hate, made it the perfect shield for the Heartless.

A Shadow Spyder crawled in with a sack, raking roost in the supply room where it got to work on a web. The sack was filled with smaller insects, maybe the size of cats. These were Termytes. A larger form of Nanytes, but each holding a venom inside.

With his work done. Mephilis closed the door and vanished in a cloud of smoke, a dark chuckle ringing through the Gummiship as it now lay in wait of a victim.


	8. Journey Home

_**Chapter 8: Journey Home**_

* * *

I slowly woke up the next morning, too comfortable to get up just yet. Even as the sun shined in the window and tickled my nose, I just laid there in a half awake state. My arms felt like lead from swimming so hard to save Ty, and the rest of my body was sore from the fighting. But I couldn't go back to sleep now.

I open my eyes at last and look around. Solas was still sleeping between Jade, Joe and Penelope, glowing like a lantern. It mush come naturally to him to use his element of light, or this was just a basic skill light dragons held.

Feeling Ty Stir next to me, I turn over and look at him. I blinked, surprised that that I was there, but I relax again. Ty was my best friend like Jade was. I smile at old memories, letting my eyes close again. We did almost everything together. Ate ice-cream, watched scary movies on sleepovers, we even studied together. But after Robert caught me, that all seemed to shatter. It was after that I moved to outside of New York with my mom while my dad and my siblings looked for a new place in Colorado. They thought it would have been cheaper if just mom and I moved until things at court were settled. It was hard fitting in the new school. Seeing as I was still hurt and didn't play with the other kids.

Only one was willing to be my friend there. I played with my Silver The Hedgehog pendant as I thought about him. It was hard to believe that we became such close friends after only a semester of school. After that, I moved back to colorado. We sent letters… but we soon lost contact. I was glad to have found Ty and Jade again. The Three Musketeers were finally together again…

Someone stirring brought me out of my thoughts. It was Riku, walking over to Jade and Joe to check on them. I quietly watch him. Both former prisoners were still asleep, and they didn't seem to be stuck in a shadow.

"How are they?…" I asked, my voice sounding more tired than I thought.

Riku looked over at me and smiled. "They're doing better. King Mickey can probably bring them back the rest of the way."

"And Penelope?…"

"She's actually resting normally now." Riku replied. "Bentley slept in his chair watching over her for the night. But you sound like you could use more sleep."

"I can't…" I told him. "I ache everywhere.."

"Here then." He said, walking over with his Keyblade appearing. "This should help." He gently laid the blade on my shoulder.

a moment later that same warmth washed over me, but this was different. It didn't heal, just made me exhausted. I tried to keep my eyes open, but they soon closed to the warmth and I fell asleep again.

When I woke up, must have been two hours later. Solas had moved closer to me and Ty had gotten up. Feeling me move, Solas woke up and looked at me with sleepy eyes. "Morning Em…" He said.

"Morning Solas." I reply. "Sleep well?"

He nodded and stretched. "Looks like everyone did."

I look around. Jade and Joe were still sleeping, but Riku had said that they needed King Mickey to help them. "Where is everyone?"

"They're with Murray in the kitchen. He's making some pancakes." Solas said. "I didn't know he could cook."

I chuckled, remembering when Shadow had made me breakfast the day after I met him and the team. "Well, we better get something to eat before it's all gone."

Solas trilled and bounded into the kitchen. I followed, soon finding everyone in the kitchen. Ty was heaping Murray in the kitchen while Riku and Roxas got the plates. Bentley was at the table with Sly and Penelope. She seemed a little confused as to what happened, but otherwise she was okay.

"So you don't remember being in the dark ages as a Black Knight?" Bentley asked.

"No…" Penelope answered. "The last thing I remember is walking to the lab to help in the TS Project. But… how'd I get here?"

"My guess is," Sly said. "That the Contessa caught you and brainwashed you into service to Le Paradox. And that was a good…. How long Bentley?"

"A good five months ago." Bentley said. "I thought I did something wrong when I found out that you betrayed u-"

"Betrayed you?!" Penelope asked, clearly shocked. "Why would I betray you? You're the smartest guy I know! And your team use science to pull off your heists, it may not go along with whats in my book, but it's amazing to hear the stories and watch how you guys did it."

Bentley smiled. "So I guess we're back together."

"We broke up?!"

Sly chuckled. "Just a little. We didn't know you weren't yourself."

I listened to them chat for a while until a plate was set in front of me. I look up and there's Ty with his own plate of Pancakes. He smiled as he sat in front of me. I found myself having a de-ja-voo, where Ty was sitting a crossed from me at College, after Samantha and her friends ruined my lunch. For the bad boy of the collage, he was the nicest.

"Morning." He said.

"Good Morning." I replied, cutting some of the pancake with my fork. "Sleep well?"

"I did." Ty replied. "You?"

"Mm-hm." I said. I don't know why I didn't feel much like talking this morning… maybe I was still tired.

We ate quietly when Ty cleared his throat. "Em? Can I ask you something?"

I look up at him and smile, glad for a conversation despite my mood. "Sure. What is it?"

"Well…" Ty started. "We've been together for a while. I think its been at least six months since we met up again."

"Yeah," I said, looking up at him again and wondering where this was going. I hadn't noticed that Sly, Bentley and Penelope had stopped talking and were listening.

"Now… tell me if I'm going too fast," Ty said. "But… I was wondering if we could start dating?" He quickly put some pancake in his mouth.

I blinked at him. _Dating?_ Was my first thought. My second thought was _'But we're barely settled anywhere for a date! Not to mention all the Heartless and Robert and Lord Knows what else!'_. But I liked my third thought better. _'We have been friends most of our lives… And I was Heartbroken when we lost contact… and it almost feels like we were already dating…'_ I took a slow breath. "It is quite a question…"

Ty looked at me, swallowing the pancake. "If you don-"

"But!" I said, stopping him. "We have been friends forever… and to tell you the truth, I thought we already kinda were."

A hopeful look came into his eyes. "So, you'd like to?"

I smiled back. "Why not?"

Ty laughed. "Even with the Heartless, Robert, Mephilis, and any other dark thing wanting our hides?"

I shrugged. "They gotta catch us first."

Ty smiled and gripped my hand. "Then…. thank you. It was easier than I thought."

"Told you!" Sly said.

I laughed. "So that's what you guys were talking about the whole venture!"

"Yep!" Sly said, smiling at Bentley and Murray. "And pay up guys."

Murray and Bentley grumbled but gave Sly at least ten bucks each.

"And you bet?!" I asked.

"Even I didn't know that!" Ty said.

"They…. weren't the only ones." Riku said with a wide grin as Roxas forked over twenty five dollars. This made us all laugh, Even Metal who wasn't big on laughing. But, this was huge for me. I just agreed to date my best friend.

* * *

We waited until after dark to get moving again. We all piled into the van, but Metal and Solas flew to make room, both making sure to fly high enough to stay hidden. It amazed me with how quickly Solas was learning. Thanks to Metals and Bentleys instructions he was a skilled flyer.

Ty and I sat beside each other with Joe and Jade beside us. Riku and Roxas sat across from us, Murray drove with Bentley in the passenger and Penelope sat between them. Sly took to the rooftops, saying he needed to stretch his legs.

We reach the Gummi Ship, finding it intact (Much to Roxas' enjoyment). But I couldn't help but think something was… off….

"Em?" Ty asked, drawing me out of my thoughts. "You alright?"

"Yeah," I said. "I'm alright."

I smiled as Metal and Solas landed. Solas trilled and puffed up his chest proudly at his success. "Longest flight yet guys! Mister Merlin is going to flip!"

I laughed. "You'll fall over puffing up like that."

Roxas laughed. "She's right squirt. Big heads only get you stuck in doorways."

"No it won't." Solas said. "It's not physically possible."

Roxas rolled his eyes. Making me roll my eyes at them. It was fun to watch them argue… mainly because they argued over silly things.

Sly soon joined us and smiled.

"Hey Sly!" I said, walking over and hugging him. "Thank for letting us stay a while."

Sly smiled and hugged back. "Thanks for the ride home. And helping us get an old friend back."

"We should thank you guys for helping us get our friends." Ty said. "It's been ages since we've seen Jade, I can hardly wait to see her wake up."

"How about we settle with a simple 'Thanks for everything?'" Murray suggested.

Riku smiled. "Sounds good to me."

"But still," I said. "Thanks guys."

"Not a problem Em." Bentley said. "Enjoy that watch."

I smiled and and looked at the watch. "I'm sure I will."  
Sly walked over to Ty and shook his hand. "Remember those pointers I told you. Most are from my family secrets."

"What are the rest?" Ty asked.

Sly grinned. "Personal experience."

I smiled at the two when I felt two large arm wrap around me tightly. "We're gonna miss you guys!" Murray said. "Be careful fighting those Heartless."

"W-We will Murray.." I said, my voice half choked by his bear… or should I say Hippo Hug?

Bentley and Sly laughed. "Be sure to keep in touch, kay guys?"

"We will." Metal said. "I'd enjoy swapping upgrade ideas with you and Penelope sometime."

"Now that sounds like fun." Penelope said. "Never thought I'd meet a live AI Android. You take care of your friends Metal."

Metal smiled. "I will." He said.

"And Solas?" Sly said.

"Yeah?" Solas asked, his head perking up.

"Keep an eye on Roxas."

"HEY!" Roxas objected, making everyone laugh.

"I'll try." Solas replied, giving each of them a dragony hug.

We soon said our goodbyes and stepped into the Gummi Ship. Roxas smiled as he started her up and we took flight. I waved at them from a window as we took to the stars. I was going to miss them. It was interesting finding Sly in the cargo hold. But I'm glad I did.

An hour later, We had Jade and Joe settled in their cots in the infirmary room. Riku, Roxas and Ty were giving King Micky a report and showed him the Element Shard. I stood back a ways with Metal, who had a funny smile on his face.

"So they know where the Door is?" Mickey asked.

"It's possible sire." Roxas replied, getting an eye roll from Mickey at the title. "Thanks to a friend we were able to spy on them and get a fragment of their plans."

Micky leaned forward. "Can you tell me?"

Riku smiled and reach into his pocket for the notes, but the smile vanished as he pulled out soggy, ruined pieces of paper. "Well… we ihad/i a fragment of their plans…"

Metal cleared his throat, making everyone look at him. "If I may Sire, But I have a full recording of what we had heard."

"You recorded it?" Riku asked.

"You made us take notes?!" Roxas asked.

"I did and I did." Metal replied. "We were going into a Water Tower after all."

Mickey laughed. "I would very much like to hear those plans. Can you send them to me?"

"I can." Metal said. "Roxas, if I may." Before Roxas could reply, Metal had practically pushed him out of his seat and plugged himself into the Gummi ship. He sat still for a moment, this eyes gaining a binary code as he sent the file.

Suddenly, the lights went out. Metal snapped out of his trance-like state and looked around. "Something shut us down!" He said. "But the file was sent successfully."

This time Roxas shoved Metal out of his seat and worked to restart the Gummi Ship. It revved, sputtered, but never started. Roxas hit his palm against the panel in frustration. "We're in trouble, The gummi naturally makes oxygen, but if we're out here too long, our supplies will run out."

"Then lets find out what did this." Ty said. "I've worked on cars, so this should be easy. Solas, a little light?"

"Coming up." The Fledgling answered, making his scales glow a radiant gold. But I almost wished he hadn't… We stop at the door as something in the Shadows moved. I almost froze at the sight.

It was a large Black thing that looked very much like a spider. It was robotic from the sound of its movements, but my senses told me there was a pilot. On its back was a sack that moved and groaned.

"This…" Roxas said, as the Spyder dropped the sack, releasing three grub-like things that smelled simply horrible. "Aint good…"

**To be Continued…**


End file.
